Feeding device



Jan. 27, 1942. J FELBER 2,270,871 Q FEEDII DEVICE Filed Oct. 12, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet 1 .Flz 1/ ATTOENE Y5 INVENTOR.

Jan. 27, 1942. J. FELBER FEEDING'DEVIGE Filed Oct. 12, 1940. 2Sheets-Sheet 2 AT'To EY Patented Jan. 27, 1942 FEEDIN G DEVICE JohnFelber Hillside, N. 1., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New J ersey Application October 12, 1940, SerialNo. 360,973

Claims.

This invention relates to feeding devices for advancing sheets or flatblanks from which container parts are made along a predetermined path oftravel and has particular reference to the separation and initialmovement of such sheets from a supply magazine when the sheets arecurved or flexed out of their fiat condition. This is an improvement onthe Can Body Maker disclosed in United States Patent 2,169,311, issuedAugust 15, 1939, to M. E. Widell.

In feeding devices for sheets or container blanks and the like arrangedto be fed into a machine, the sheets or blanks are usually separatedindividually from the stack or supply source and are then engaged byfeed fingers or dogs carried by feeding elements and are advanced alonga path of travel to the initial working station of the machine.

When blanks are cut from a substantially continuous web or strip ofmaterial which has been rolled up for some time and are then to be fed,individual blanks have a tendency to keep the curved shape of the rollinstead of becoming fiat. This is especially true of fibre or the likematerial. Hence when such curved blanks are stacked into a magazine of ablank feeding device, the usual feed dogs may pass by the blanks withoutfeeding them from. the magazine or sometimes only a corner of the dogsengage and nick or otherwise damage a-blank in feeding it from themagazine. 1

The invention contemplates overcoming such difficulties by providing afeeding device having a plurality of flexible feed fingers arranged sothat they will conform to thecurvature of the blanks to be fed andthereby fully engage each blank along a line sufficient to advance itwithout damage.

An object therefore of the invention is the provision of a sheet orcontainer blank feeding device having a plurality of feed fingerscarried by movable elements and adapted to engage and feed curved orflexed sheets along a predetermined path of travel from the magazine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a feeding devicewhich is adaptable for curved sheets or container blanks, i. e., thosenot entirely flat, wherein the feeding elements are,

provided with a stationary and with a plurality of yieldable fingers injuxtaposed relationship so that the front portion of the fingers maypass.

beneath an individual sheet or supply of sheets to be fed, allowing theflngersto yield and to conform to the curvature of the sheet whenengaging an edge thereof thus more accurately feeding the sheets along apredetermined path of travel.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such a sheet orcontainer blank feeding device wherein the feeding elements are of areciprocating character and have a plurality of yieldable feed fingerswhich operate beneath a supply magazine and are arranged to engage anedge of the lowermost sheet and advance it along a predetermined path,the yieldable fingers being adapted to conform to the sheet curvature toinsure their engagement with the sheet edge and thereby increase theline of engagement along the sheet edge to prevent nicking or deformingthe edge thereof.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentas it is better understood from the following description, which, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferredembodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of a feeding device embodying the presentinvention, with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the feed bar of the deviceillustrated in Fig. l, the View showing stationary and yieldable feedfingers;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially along the line 3-3 inFig. 1, with parts broken away;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal view partly in elevation, taken substantiallyalong the line 4-4 in Fig. 1, with parts broken away and parts shown insection;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged end view of the feed bar shown in Fig. 2,illustrating the yieldable fingers engaging the edge and conforming tothe curvature of a fragmentary part of an upwardly curved sheet; and iFig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 and showing the yieldable fingersconforming to the curvature of a downwardly curved sheet.

As a preferred embodiment of the invention the drawings illustrate theprincipal parts of a can body making machine of the character disclosedin the above mentioned Widell patent.

In such a machine fibre container body blanks or sheets which arecurved, as hereinbefore mentioned and as indicated by thenumeral A (Fig.4), are fed individually from the bottom of a stack of such blanksretained in a supply magazine ll (Figs. 1, 3 and 4). The magazine ismounted on top of a container body blank feeding device I! which issupported on a sub-frame l3 bolted to a machine main frame M.

The supply magazine H comprises a support plate it having verticallydisposed front, rear and side feed guide posts ii, if and I8respectively. The front guide posts is are fastened to horizontal crossbars I9 (Figs. 1 and 3) which are integral parts of a pair ofuprightbrackets 20 which extend up from the sub-frame it. The side guideposts is are fastened to the sides of an intermediate frame M which ismounted upon the frame H. The rear posts If are secured to angle blocks22 which in turn are fastened to the support plate it.

The stack of blanks in the magazine rests on the support plate It, theline of curvature of the blanks extending transversely of the device.The support plate i5 also carries a reciprocating feed bar 28 whichoperates in a horizontal slideway 24 formed in. the support plate it andis held down in the slideway by a cover plate 25 which is secured, tothe top of the support plate. A gear rack ft on the bottom of the feedbar 23 (Fig. 4) meshes with a segment gear El formed on the upper end ofa rock lever arm 28. The lever 22 extends down through an opening in theintermediate frame 2i and is mounted on a pivot pin or rocker shaft 229carried in the subframe it.

The opposite or lower end of the lever 29 is connected by a pivot pin anto a slide bracket 42. One end of an operating link or connecting rod 43is carried in the slide bracket 42. The

opposite end of the link as (Fig. 4) is secured to an eccentric yoke 44mounted on a rotating eccentric 45. The eccentric may be an integralpart of a jack shaft 48 or may be suitably fastened to it.

Shaft 46 is iournaled in bearings mounted in the frame-Ill. The shaft isrotated by a drive chain 41 through a chain sprocket 48 mounted on theshaft. The chain ll is driven in any suitable manner in time with theother moving parts of the machine. Hence as the jack: shaft 46 rotates,it actuates the eccentric 45 and link 43 and this through the rocker arm28 shifts the feed bar 23 through a forward or feeding stroke and thencethrough a backward or return stroke.

Provision is made for preventing damage to the machine parts in case thefeed bar 28 becomes iammed. For this purpose the link 43 carries a fixedcollar ii and a compression spring 52 is mountedon the link and isinterposed between the collar and the bracket 42. The spring is heldunder compression by locknuts 58 which are threaded on the outer end ofthe link and which normally seat against the bracket M. It is thisspring that permits the link connection to yield in the event of anobstruction or undue resistance that may occur in the feeding mechanism.

The lowermost blank A of the stack of blanks in the magazine II is fedfrom the bottom of the magazine by yieldable feed fingers 56 which arecarried on the inner end of the feed bar 28. There are preferably fourof these yieldable feed fingers, two being disposed in pockets 5'!located on each side of a stationary finger 68 formed integrally withthe feed bar. The yieldable fingers are pivotally carried on a pin 8|which is secured in the feed bar 23.

The yieldable fingers 56 are adapted to rock on the pivot pin GI- andare normally held in an upward position by leaf springs 62 (Figs. 2, 4,5- and 6) ,one spring being secured to the bot- 68 is formed with a stepor feed shoulder ta which in height or depth is preferably equal to thethickness of a sheet or blank A to be fed from the magazine 6.. The baseof the step, i. e., the top surface of the finger forward of the step,slopes or is inclined or tapered downwardly toward the inner or frontend of the finger so that its forward end is thinner than the outer orrear end.

Hence as the feed bar 23 moves through a forward or feeding stroke, theinner or forward tapered ends of the spring held feed fingers 56 moveunder the stack of blanks A in the magazine H and the rear edge of thelowermost blank is engaged by the sloping top surface of the feedfingers. The lowermost blank depresses the free forward ends of thefingers against the resistance of their springs 62 and this arranges thedifferent fingers to conform to the curvature or other disposition ofthe blank. When the feed bar has advanced far enough, the steps orshoulders 66 on the feed fingers engage the rear edge of the lowermostblank and thereupon advance the blank for a predetermined distance.

The described arrangement of the spring operated fingers 66 to yield andto conform to the curvature of a curved sheet upon engagement with theedge of the sheet increases or elongates the line contact over thatwhich would normally be engaged by stationary fingers. This increasedcontact on the edge of the sheet distributes the feeding pressure over abroader region and prevents nicking or deforming of the edge of such afed sheet.

When the blanks in the magazine are convexly curved as shown in Fig. 5the centrally disposed stationary finger 58, which may be an integralpart of the feed bar 23, does not come into use. However, when theblanks are concavely curved, as shown in Fig. 6, this stationary fingercomes into play to assist, in feeding the blank from the magazine. Itwill of course be understood that fiat blanks, which are between theconvex and the concave forms, are efficiently handled by this feedingfinger unit.

If desired the blank or sheet may be-entirely removed from the magazineH by actuating the feed bar 23 and the feed fingers 56 carried thereonon a long stroke. However, for high speed feeding of the blanks thedrawings show a feeding device having a short stroke. In such a devicethe blank is only started along its path of travel by the feed fingers56 and is preferably picked up by a pair of rapidly rotating blankadvancing rollers between which the blank passes.

The advancing rollers include a lower or feed roller II and an upper orpressure roller 12 disposed adjacent the front of the magazine Ii.

The pressure roller is mounted on a cross shaft 13 journaled in suitablebearings formed in the brackets 20. The feed roller is mounted on adrive shaft 14 Journaled in bearings formed in the sub-frame I3. Thisdrive shaft is rotated through the medium of a sprocket 16 which iscarried thereon and which is driven by an endless chain 11 or otherdriving instrumentality. This chain also operates over a sprocket 18carried on the Jack shaft 48, which shaft it will be recalled, is themain source of power fdr operating the feeding device.

As a blank A is advanced from the magazine its forward edge is grippedby the rotating rollers H, 12 and the blank is thus fed further alongits path of travel. Delivery of the blank into the rollers isfacilitated by a central horizontally disposed guide member 8| (Figs. 1and 3) and by a pair of spaced guide bars 82. The guide member 8| islocated in a continuation of the feed bar slideway 24 and is secured tothe support plate IS.

The guide bars 82 are fastened to the lower surface of the support platel5, and are spaced apart being located on opposite sides of the centerguide 8|. These bars 82 slope upwardly and extend horizontally forwardover the top of the body maker frame l4. These guide bars support theadvancing sheets as they are delivered by the rollers ll, 12 to the bodymaking machine.

The sheets are received on the horizontal frame II where they areadvanced therealong in a stepby-step manner by a pair of spaced andparallel longitudinally reciprocable slide bars 83. The bars 83reciprocate in grooves or T slots 84 formed in the frame l4 and thesebars carry a plurality of equally spaced feed dogs 85. The sheets arethus advanced through the machine.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form,

construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its materialadvantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferredembodiment thereof.

I claim:

l. A feeding device for curved sheets and sheet material, comprising asupport for a sheet, feeding means movable adjacent said support, and aplurality of yieldable fingers pivotally mounted in edge to edge contacton said feeding means for engaging an edge of the sheet to advance thesheet along saidsupport, yieldable means for respectively pressing saidfingers against the bottom surface of said sheet, whereby said fingersare adapted to conform to the sheet edgein an elongated line of contactto insure proper feeding without nicking or damage to the curved sheet.

2. A feeding device for sheets and the like of curved configuration,comprising a magazine for retaining a stack of sheets, a feed barmovable adjacent said magazine, a non-yieldable feed yieldable fingerscarriedby said feed bar on opposite sides of said first mentioned feedfinger and adapted to engage a curved edge of the lowfinger carried bysaid feed bar, a plurality of ermost sheet to separate the sheet andadvance it along a predetermined path of travel, and resilient meanscarried by said feed bar for pressing said yieldable fingers intoengagement with said lowermost sheet in a line ccnta'ct conforming tothe curved sheet edge to prevent nicking and 'tcileforming of the edgeof the engaged and fed shee 3. A feeding device for curved sheets andsheet material can parts, comprising a support for a sheet, feedingmeans movable adjacent said support, a non-yieldable feed finger on saidfeeding means, a plurality of movable fingers on said feeding means onopposite sides .of said nonyieldable feed finger and adapted to engagean edge of the sheet for advancing the sheet along said support, andsprings carried by said feeding means for respectively pressing againstsaid movable fingers to render the same yieldable so that they willconform to the curvature of the sheet in an elongated line of contact toprevent nick ing and deforming the edge of the engaged and fed sheet.

4. A feeding device for curved sheets, body blanks and the like,comprising a feed support, a magazine on said support for holding instacked formation a supply of curved sheets to be fed, a

feed bar movable in said support and having a centrally disposedintegral non-yieldable feed finger for feeding a sheet from saidmagazine, a plurality of movable fingers mounted on said feed bar, and aspring carried by said feed bar engaging each of said movable fingers torender the same individually yieldable, whereby to conform saidyieldable fingers to the curvature of the sheet prior to being engagedand fed by said fingers to insure a line contact with the curved sheetedge and preventing nicking and deforming of the sheet.

5. A feeding device for curved sheets, body blanks and the like,comprising a feed support, a magazine onsaid support for holding asupply of curved sheets in stacked formation, a feed bar movable in saidsupport and having an integral non-yieldable feed finger for feeding thelowermost sheet from said magazine, a plurality of yieldable fingerscarried by said feed bar on opposite sides of said non-yieldable feedfinger, spring means for respectively moving said yieldable feed fingersinto engagement with said lowermost sheet in conformity-to the curvatureof the latter, said fingers having shoulders formed to engage an edge ofsaid sheet to be fed for separating and advancing the sheet along saidsupport, said yieldable fingers engaging the sheet edge in an elongatedline of contact, a pair of receiving and feeding rollers located at theend of said support, and guide members disposed adiacent said rollers toinsure the delivery of a fed sheet to between said-rollers.

' 8 JOHN FELBER.

